Francesca Chiara

Francesca Chiara Casellati is the singer and songwriter of the Italian band The LoveCrave.

The Italian name "Francesca" corresponds to "Francis" and "Chiara" means "bright" in Italian.

Biography

Francesca Chiara's parents are teachers (English and Mathematics) and they still live in Padova, where Francesca was born. Her grandparents lived in Venice, and she descends from a Venetian noble family, the Pisani. Her grandmother's name was Adriana Pisani.

Francesca Chiara spent her childhood going to Venice every weekend and this is why she has always been fascinated by dark and silent atmospheres, where her music finds inspiration.

Musical career

She wrote her first novel at the age of 10 and she wrote her first song at 13 years old. It was called "Survivor".At 17 years old she spent one year in San Francisco, California graduating at Castro Valley High School and she began to sing seriously and to play guitar.

She returned to Italy and founded the band Mystery, with Simon Dredo and Mauro Lentola, producing a four song hard rock EP.

At 19 years old she moved from Padova to Milan and started studying music for three years in a music school but then she left it. She worked in a wedding agency, sold wine through the phone and worked in a concert agency to survive and pay the rent.

She met Tank Palamara in a metal club and they started to collaborate.Their first band was called The Flu in 1996 and it was a new punk metal band. They played all over Italy and participated to the Sanremo Music Festival in 1999.

The first album Il Parco Dei Sogni came out in Italian as a concept album with Sony Music Italy that also produced the video of the song “Streghe” (witches).

After various experiences into electronic and alternative music Tank and Francesca created in year 2003 the new gothic rock band The LoveCrave with Bob Machine on drums and Simon Dredo on bass.

Influences

Inspired by movies like The Crow, Blade Runner, Edward Scissorhands, Matrix ... FC's music has always had a mysterious and aggressive side that creates contrasts with her love for great melodies. Her biggest influences come from the eighties rock/metal (Iron Maiden, Queensryche but also AC/DC, Joan Jett and Sex Pistols...) to the nineties gothic wave (HIM, Paradise Lost...) . "Writing a melody is the hardest part cause it has to be simple, emotional and instinctive and it has to be the mirror of the words you are saying, so every great melody is an influence for me."

Discography

* 1992 - Mystery - EP
* 1997 Sony Music Francesca Chiara - L’onda – single
* 1998 Sony Music Francesca Chiara – Streghe – single
* 1999 Sony Music Francesca Chiara – Ti Amo Che Strano – single
* 1999 Sony Music Francesca Chiara - Il Parco Dei Sogni - album
* 2006 Repo Records The LoveCrave - The Angel And The Rain - album

Collections

*1998 - Un Disco Per L'Estate - "L'onda"
*1998 - Sanremo Giovani 1998 - "Streghe"
*1999 - 49° Edizione del festival Di Sanremo cd blu- "Ti Amo Che Strano"
*2006 - Zilloscope 11/06 (ZILLO mag -DE) - "Little Suicide"
*2006 - Cold Hands Seduction Vol.64 (SONIC SEDUCER mag - DE) - "Vampires (The Light That We Are)"
*2006 - Loud Sounds (ROCK HARD mag - ITA) - "Nobody"
*2006 - ClubTRAX Vol. 2 Double CD (XtraX store - DE) - "Little Suicide"
*2007 - Gothic Magazine Compilation - "Can You Hear Me?"
*2007 - Summer Darkness 07 (ZILLO mag -DE) - "Can You Hear Me?"

Video/DVD

*1999 - "Streghe"
*2006 - Zillo dvd "Dark Visions" - "Fading Roses" - colonna sonora
*2007 - Zillo dvd "Dark Visions 2" - "Can You Hear Me?" live at M'Era Luna Festival
*2007 - Zillo dvd "Dark Visions 2" - "Can You Hear Me?" colonna sonora menù

External links

* [http://www.myspace.com/thelovecrave The LoveCrave official MySpace page]
* [http://www.thelovecrave.com/ The LoveCrave official site]
* [http://www.myspace.com/francescachiara FC personal MySpace page]